I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4020 

To increase the number and percentage of students who graduate from 

high school college and career ready with the ability to use knowledge 

to solve complex problems, think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate with others, and develop academic mindsets, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2015 

Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To increase the number and percentage of students who 

graduate from high school college and career ready with 

the ability to use knowledge to solve complex problems, 

think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate with 

others, and develop academic mindsets, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Next Generation High 

5 Schools Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to promote and support 

3 the comprehensive school redesign of the high school expe4 rience to ensure all students served by an eligible entity 

5 that receives a grant under this Act, particularly those 

6 students who are traditionally underserved, are provided 

7 with challenging, engaging, and relevant academic, career8 related experiences that fully prepare them for postsec9 ondary education and careers and to— 

10 (1) increase the number and percentage of stu11 dents who graduate from high school college and ca12 reer ready with the ability to use knowledge to solve 

13 complex problems, think critically, communicate ef14 fectively, collaborate with others, and develop aca15 demic mindsets; 

16 (2) provide students with opportunities to earn 

17 college-level credit and postsecondary credentials 

18 while in high school, such as early college and dual 

19 enrollment; 

20 (3) increase student readiness to pursue post21 secondary degrees in science, technology, engineer22 ing, and mathematics, particularly for student 

23 groups historically underrepresented in these fields; 

24 (4) support the provision and sequencing of 

25 coursework that integrates rigorous academics with 

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1 riences in an effort to provide students with in2 creased opportunities to have career related experi3 ences, develop career-related competencies, and earn 

4 industry-recognized credentials; 

5 (5) increase access to student-centered learning 

6 opportunities, including competency-based learning 

7 models, that lead to all students graduating college 

8 and career ready with the competencies described in 

9 paragraph (1) to succeed in the 21st century; 

10 (6) increase postsecondary enrollment, persist11 ence, and completion; 

12 (7) reduce the need for remediation at the post13 secondary level; and 

14 (8) create innovative supports that can be rep15 licated in other schools and local educational agen16 cies. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided, the terms used in this Act have the meanings 

21 given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 

22 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

23 7801). 

24 (2) ADVANCED PLACEMENT OR INTERNATIONAL

25 BACCALAUREATE COURSE.—The term ‘‘Advanced 


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1 Placement or International Baccalaureate course’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) a course of postsecondary-level instruc4 tion provided to middle school or secondary 

5 school students, terminating in an Advanced 

6 Placement or International Baccalaureate ex7 amination; or 

8 (B) another highly rigorous, evidence 

9 based, postsecondary preparatory program ter10 minating in— 

11 (i) an examination or sequence of 

12 courses that are widely accepted for credit 

13 at institutions of higher education; or 

14 (ii) another examination or sequence 

15 of courses approved by the Secretary. 

16 (3) APPLIED LEARNING.—The term ‘‘applied 

17 learning’’ means a strategy that engages students in 

18 opportunities to apply rigorous academic content 

19 aligned with college-level expectations to real world 

20 experience, through such means as project-based 

21 learning, work-based learning, or service learning, 

22 and develops students’ cognitive competencies and 

23 pertinent employability skills. 

24 (4) ATTRITION.—The term ‘‘attrition’’ means 

25 the reduction in a school’s student population as a 


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1 result of transfers or dropouts and includes students 

2 who have been enrolled for a minimum of 3 weeks 

3 within the academic year. 

4 (5) CHRONICALLY ABSENT.—The term ‘‘chron5 ically absent’’, when used with respect to a stu6 dent— 

7 (A) means a student who misses at least 

8 10 percent of the school days at a school; and 

9 (B) does not include any school days a stu10 dent misses due to an in-school or out-of-school 

11 suspension, or for which a student was not en12 rolled at such school. 

13 (6) COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING MODEL.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘competency15 based learning model’’ means an education 

16 model in which students advance academically 

17 based upon multiple demonstrations of com18 petence in defined content-specific concepts and 

19 higher order skills, such as critical thinking and 

20 problem solving. 

21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In a competency22 based learning model the following applies: 

23 (i) Competencies include explicit, 

24 measurable, and transferable learning ob25 jectives. 


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1 (ii) Assessment is used to identify 

2 gaps in a student’s knowledge and to pro3 vide frequent and meaningful feedback on 

4 the student’s progression toward filling 

5 such gaps and moving on to higher levels 

6 of knowledge. 

7 (iii) Each student receives timely, dif8 ferentiated support based on the student’s 

9 individual learning needs. 

10 (iv) Student agency is emphasized 

11 through transparency of goals and gaps in 

12 knowledge, and multiple means to fulfill 

13 those gaps. 

14 (7) EFFECTIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL REFORM

15 MODEL.—The term ‘‘effective secondary school re16 form model’’ means an evidence-based model with 

17 demonstrated effectiveness serving diverse student 

18 populations across multiple geographic regions with 

19 respect to such indicators as improving academic 

20 achievement, reducing attrition, and increasing post21 secondary enrollment, persistence, and completion 

22 rates of struggling students or dropouts. 

23 (8) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ means a local educational agency, charter school, 

25 or a consortium of local educational agencies— 


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1 (A) in partnership with— 

2 (i) 1 or more institutions of higher 

3 education; 

4 (ii) 1 or more community-based part5 ners, such as a nonprofit organization, 

6 community-based organization, State or 

7 local government agency, business, or an 

8 industry-related organization; and 

9 (iii) a qualified intermediary; and 

10 (B) that may be in partnership with 1 or 

11 more external partners. 

12 (9) ELIGIBLE HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligi13 ble high school’’ means a high school that— 

14 (A) serves a student population of which 

15 not less than 65 percent are from low-income 

16 families as determined by the local educational 

17 agency under section 1113 of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 6313); 

20 (B) has a graduation rate at or below 67 

21 percent, except in the case of a high school 

22 that, at the time of applying for the grant 

23 under this Act, is a new high school, as deter24 mined by the Secretary; 


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1 (C) does not receive grant funds under sec2 tion 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6303(g)); 

4 and 

5 (D) is identified as low performing based 

6 on the State’s accountability system, except in 

7 the case of a high school that, at the time of 

8 applying for the grant under this Act, is a new 

9 high school, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 (10) EVIDENCE-BASED MODEL.—The term 

11 ‘‘evidence-based model’’ means a school reform 

12 model activity that is based on research findings or 

13 reasonable hypotheses, including related research or 

14 theories in education. 

15 (11) EXTERNAL PARTNER.—The term ‘‘exter16 nal partner’’ means an entity with a demonstrated 

17 record of success in implementing an effective sec18 ondary school reform model, or in providing aca19 demic or integrated support services. 

20 (12) FEEDER MIDDLE SCHOOL.—The term 

21 ‘‘feeder middle school’’ means an elementary school 

22 or secondary school from which a significant number 

23 of students go on to attend an eligible secondary 

24 school. 


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1 (13) FEEDER PATTERN.—The term ‘‘feeder 

2 pattern’’ means an accurate estimate of the number 

3 of students in low-income families in a secondary 

4 school that is calculated by applying the average per5 centage of students in low-income families of the ele6 mentary school attendance areas as calculated under 

7 section 1113(a)(5)(A) of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 6313(a)(5)(A)) that feed into the secondary school 

10 to the number of students enrolled in high school. 

11 (14) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

12 means a secondary school that grants a diploma, as 

13 defined by the State, and includes, at least grade 12. 

14 (15) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL.— 

15 The term ‘‘industry-recognized credential’’ means an 

16 industry-recognized credential that— 

17 (A) is demonstrated to be of high quality 

18 by the institution offering the program; 

19 (B) meets the current, as of the date of 

20 the determination, or projected needs of a local 

21 or regional workforce for recruitment, screen22 ing, hiring, retention, or advancement pur23 poses— 


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1 (i) as determined by the State in 

2 which the program is located, in consulta3 tion with business entities; or 

4 (ii) as demonstrated by the institution 

5 offering the program leading to the creden6 tial; and 

7 (C) is, where applicable, endorsed by a na8 tionally recognized trade association or organi9 zation representing a significant part of the in10 dustry or sector. 

11 (16) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

12 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

15 (17) MOBILITY RATE.—The term ‘‘mobility 

16 rate’’ means the rate at which students transfer 

17 from one secondary school to another secondary 

18 school due to a change in primary residence. 

19 (18) POSTSECONDARY ENROLLMENT.—The 

20 term ‘‘postsecondary enrollment’’ means, of the stu21 dents who graduate from secondary school with a 

22 regular high school diploma consistent with section 

23 200.19(b)(1)(i) of title 34, Code of Federal Regula24 tions, the number and percentage of such students 


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1 who enroll in an institution of higher education with2 in 16 months of receiving the diploma. 

3 (19) POSTSECONDARY CREDIT-ACCUMULA4 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary credit-accumula5 tion’’ means, of the students who graduate from sec6 ondary school with a regular high school diploma 

7 consistent with section 200.19(b)(1)(i) of title 34, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, and who enroll in an 

9 institution of higher education not later than 16 

10 months after receiving the diploma, the number and 

11 percentage of such students who complete at least 

12 the equivalent of 1 academic year of college credit 

13 applicable to a postsecondary degree not later than 

14 2 years after enrollment in an institution of higher 

15 education. 

16 (20) QUALIFIED INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

17 ‘‘qualified intermediary’’ means an entity that has— 

18 (A) a demonstrated record of working on 

19 grant-related high school redesign activities; 

20 and 

21 (B) expertise in building and sustaining 

22 partnerships with entities such as employers, 

23 schools, community-based organizations, institu24 tions of higher education, social service organi25 zations, economic development organizations, 


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1 and workforce systems to broker services, re2 sources, and supports to youth and the organi3 zations and systems that are designed to serve 

4 youth (including connecting employers to class5 rooms, designing and implementing 

6 contextualized pathways to postsecondary edu7 cation and careers, developing curricula, deliv8 ering professional development, and connecting 

9 students to internships and other work-based 

10 learning opportunities). 

11 (21) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

12 means the Secretary of Education. 

13 (22) STRUGGLING STUDENT.—The term 

14 ‘‘struggling student’’ means a student who is at an 

15 increased risk for low academic achievement and is 

16 unlikely to graduate secondary school within 4 years, 

17 college and career ready, or a student who has 

18 dropped out of middle school or high school. 

19 (23) STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING AP20 PROACHES.—The term ‘‘student-centered learning 

21 approaches’’ means instruction and curriculum 

22 that— 

23 (A) are personalized and competency based 

24 or mastery oriented; 

25 (B) take place anytime and anywhere; 


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1 (C) enable students to have supports to 

2 take increased responsibility over their edu3 cation and develop self-regulation skills; and 

4 (D) are designed to foster the skills, dis5 positions, and knowledge students need to suc6 ceed in college, career, and citizenship, and the 

7 competencies described in section 2(1). 

8 (24) TRANSFER RATE.—The term ‘‘transfer 

9 rate’’ means the rate at which students transfer 

10 from one high school to another high school, or from 

11 one high school to another education setting, for a 

12 reason other than due to a change in primary resi13 dence, as verified through written documentation by 

14 the local educational agency serving the student at 

15 the time of the transfer. 

16 SEC. 4. PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED. 

17 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

18 award grants to eligible entities to implement comprehen19 sive high school redesign strategies for the purpose of 

20 transforming the high school experience in order to pro21 vide students with challenging, engaging, and relevant 

22 academic and career-related learning opportunities that 

23 are aligned with rigorous, challenging academic content 

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1 secondary course credit, and which may focus on STEM2 related courses and careers. 

3 (b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) BUREAU OF INDIAN EDUCATION.—The Sec5 retary shall reserve one-half of 1 percent of the total 

6 amount appropriated to carry out this Act for a fis7 cal year for the Bureau of Indian Education, which 

8 shall be awarded, on a competitive basis, by the Bu9 reau of Indian Education for activities consistent 

10 with the purposes of the program. 

11 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

12 shall reserve not more than 2.5 percent of the total 

13 amount appropriated to carry out this Act for a fis14 cal year for national activities, including evaluation, 

15 dissemination of best practices, and technical assist16 ance. 

17 (c) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the total amount of 

19 funds appropriated to carry out this Act for a fiscal 

20 year and not reserved under subsection (b), the Sec21 retary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

22 eligible entities, based on the quality of the applica23 tions submitted. 

24 (2) GRANT DURATION.—Grants awarded under 

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1 tional after 3 years on satisfactory progress on the 

2 leading performance indicators described in sub3 section (d)(2)(J)(i), as determined by the Secretary, 

4 and renewable for 3 additional 1-year periods, based 

5 on satisfactory progress on the core indicators de6 scribed in subsection (d)(2)(J)(ii). 

7 (3) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Secretary may— 

8 (A) allow eligible entities to utilize funds 

9 provided under this section for planning pur10 poses for not more than 1 year after receiving 

11 the grant; and 

12 (B) withhold subsequent allocations of 

13 grant funds if the Secretary determines an eli14 gible entity plan to be insufficient to effectively 

15 achieve the purposes of this Act. 

16 (4) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each eligible entity that 

17 receives a grant under this section shall submit to 

18 the Secretary an annual report including data on the 

19 entity’s progress on the performance indicators de20 scribed in subsection (d)(2)(J). 

21 (5) EQUITY ASSURANCES.—To receive a grant 

22 under this section, an eligible entity shall dem23 onstrate its commitment to the core equity assur24 ance areas, including, for each local educational 

25 agency included in an eligible entity, an assurance 


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1 that the local educational agency has implemented 

2 the following policies: 

3 (A) LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN SECONDARY

4 SCHOOLS.—For measuring the number of stu5 dents in low-income families in secondary 

6 schools, the local educational agency shall use 

7 the same measure of poverty, which shall be the 

8 calculation producing the greater of the results 

9 from among the following 2 calculations: 

10 (i) The calculation described under 

11 section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 

12 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). 

14 (ii) A feeder pattern, if applicable. 

15 (B) TITLE I ALLOCATION TO HIGH

16 SCHOOLS.—Each such local educational agen17 cy— 

18 (i) shall allocate funds received under 

19 section 1113(a) of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 6313(a)), in excess of the highest 

22 allocation received by such local edu23 cational agency for the 5 fiscal years prior 

24 to the date of enactment of this Act, to eli25 gible high schools until such fiscal year as 


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1 high schools served by the local educational 

2 agency receive proportional funding under 

3 subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Ele4 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.); and 

6 (ii) after proportional funding is 

7 achieved under subpart 2 of part A of title 

8 I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et 

10 seq.), shall allocate funds under this Act in 

11 such a way as to at least maintain such 

12 proportional funding to eligible high 

13 schools served by the agency. 

14 (C) EQUITABLE DISCIPLINE POLICIES.— 

15 Each such local educational agency shall imple16 ment policies and strategies to improve school 

17 climate, including effective and equitably ap18 plied discipline policies, which shall be in19 formed, in part, by data reported as part of the 

20 Office of Civil Rights Data Collection. 

21 (D) PROPORTIONAL FUNDING.—In this 

22 paragraph, the term ‘‘proportional funding’’ 

23 means the percentage of a local educational 

24 agency’s allocation under subpart 2 of part A of 

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1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) is 

2 at least equal to the percentage of low-income 

3 students eligible to attend high schools served 

4 by the local educational agency. 

5 (d) APPLICATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that de7 sires a grant under this section shall submit an ap8 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such man9 ner, and containing such information as the Sec10 retary may reasonably require. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

12 under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, a 

13 description of the following: 

14 (A) How the eligible entity will use funds 

15 awarded under this section to carry out the evi16 denced-based activities described in subsections 

17 (e) and (f) to provide all students with person18 alized learning experiences and engage students 

19 equitably in applied learning and student-cen20 tered learning approaches. 

21 (B) The responsibilities to be carried out 

22 by each member of the eligible entity and addi23 tional external partners or qualified inter24 mediaries, including a description of their 

25 record of success in secondary school reform. 


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1 (C) How the eligible entity will sustain the 

2 activities proposed, including the availability of 

3 funds from non-Federal sources and coordina4 tion with other Federal, State, and local funds. 

5 (D) The comprehensive needs analysis and 

6 capacity assessment conducted of the eligible 

7 entity and eligible high schools that will be 

8 served under the grant. The needs analysis and 

9 capacity assessment shall include the following: 

10 (i) An examination of each high 

11 school’s data in the aggregate, and 

12 disaggregated, and cross-tabulated by each 

13 of the subgroups of students described in 

14 section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary 

15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)), on the following: 

17 (I) Graduation rates and charac18 teristics of those students who are not 

19 graduating, including such students’ 

20 attendance, behavior, expulsion rates, 

21 suspension rates, course performance, 

22 credit accumulation rates, on track to 

23 graduate rates, transfer rates, and 

24 mobility rates. 


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1 (II) Rates of dropout recovery 

2 (re-entry) into programs leading to 

3 secondary and postsecondary success. 

4 (III) Rates of postsecondary en5 rollment, remediation, and, if avail6 able, persistence and completion. 

7 (IV) The percentage of students 

8 who are 2 or more years overaged or 

9 undercredited for their grade level. 

10 (V) The percentage of students 

11 who are 1 or more years overaged or 

12 undercredited for their grade level. 

13 (ii) An examination of each eligible 

14 high school and feeder middle school’s data 

15 in the aggregate, and disaggregated by 

16 each of the subgroups of students de17 scribed in section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the 

18 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

19 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)), as 

20 applicable, on the following: 

21 (I) Student academic achieve22 ment, including the percentage of stu23 dents who have on-time credit accu24 mulation at the end of each grade, 

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1 ble, and the percent of students fail2 ing a core, credit-bearing, reading or 

3 language arts, science, or mathematics 

4 course, or failing 2 or more of any 

5 courses. 

6 (II) Annual, average attendance 

7 rates. 

8 (III) Percentage of students who 

9 are chronically absent. 

10 (IV) Annual rates of expulsions, 

11 suspensions (including in-school and 

12 out-of-school suspensions), school vio13 lence, harassment, and bullying, as 

14 defined under State or local laws or 

15 policies. 

16 (V) Annual, average credit accu17 mulation. 

18 (VI) Annual mobility, transfer, 

19 and attrition rates. 

20 (VII) Annual, average enrollment 

21 in and completion of advanced 

22 coursework, including participation in 

23 rigorous career and technical and 

24 STEM specialized and advanced 

25 courses and opportunities to earn 


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1 postsecondary credit while in high 

2 school such as through dual enroll3 ment, early college high school, and 

4 Advanced Placement or International 

5 Baccalaureate courses. 

6 (VIII) Curriculum alignment 

7 with college and career ready stand8 ards across all grade levels, including 

9 alignment with requirements to pur10 sue STEM-related courses in postsec11 ondary education. 

12 (IX) The percentage of students 

13 participating in career and technical 

14 education coursework that is aligned 

15 to standards for career and technical 

16 education. 

17 (X) The nonacademic barriers 

18 that impact student achievement and 

19 the availability of support services to 

20 address such barriers. 

21 (XI) The number and percentage 

22 of students who do not transition 

23 from grade 8 to grade 9 and who have 

24 not transferred to and enrolled in a 

25 school outside of the local educational 


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1 agency within the State or outside of 

2 the State. 

3 (iii) An examination and description 

4 of each eligible high school’s capacity to 

5 implement the school reform activities 

6 under subsection (e)(3), including— 

7 (I) the capacity and experience 

8 levels of administrative, instructional, 

9 and noninstructional staff, including 

10 the extent to which teachers assigned 

11 to a core academic subject are fully 

12 certified in the subject area in which 

13 they are assigned and teacher and 

14 leader ratings based on the State 

15 teacher and leader evaluation and im16 provement system; 

17 (II) the budget, including how 

18 Federal, State, and local funds are 

19 being spent and can be more effi20 ciently utilized; 

21 (III) opportunities to extend or 

22 restructure the school day, week, or 

23 year; 


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1 (IV) policies of the local edu2 cational agency related to seat-time 

3 requirements; and 

4 (V) the technical assistance, ad5 ditional resources, and staff necessary 

6 to implement the activities identified 

7 in subsection (e). 

8 (iv) An assessment of community9 based resources, including— 

10 (I) identification of community11 based resources; 

12 (II) opportunities to extend 

13 learning opportunities that are avail14 able to students through partnerships 

15 with relevant community-based orga16 nizations and employers, including 

17 those with experience in STEM-re18 lated fields; and 

19 (III) a description of roles and 

20 responsibilities of each entity within 

21 the eligible entity. 

22 (v) An assessment of the external 

23 partner capacity to provide technical as24 sistance and resources to implement the 

25 activities described in subsection (e). 


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1 (E) The rationale for the model or strate2 gies chosen, to be implemented under sub3 section (e), including how it will effectively ad4 dress the needs identified through the needs 

5 analysis. 

6 (F) A plan to ensure that the eligible enti7 ty will not track students into specific career 

8 themes or job placements and that the opportu9 nities provided to students are of comparable 

10 rigor. 

11 (G) A plan to use current regional labor 

12 market information and engage employers and 

13 community-based organizations in the develop14 ment of work-related learning opportunities, 

15 particularly those in STEM-related fields, and 

16 other curriculum revisions under subsection (e). 

17 (H) A plan to address the needs of stu18 dents with disabilities, English language learn19 ers, and struggling students in the redesign ac20 tivities under subsection (e). 

21 (I) A description of the policies and strate22 gies that will be implemented to improve school 

23 climate, including effective and equitable dis24 cipline policies, which shall be informed, in 


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1 part, by data reported as part of the Office of 

2 Civil Rights Data Collection. 

3 (J) The performance indicators and tar4 gets the eligible entity will use to assess the ef5 fectiveness of the activities implemented under 

6 this section, including— 

7 (i) leading indicators, which may in8 clude— 

9 (I) annual, average attendance 

10 rates; 

11 (II) percentage of students who 

12 are chronically absent; 

13 (III) rates, including 

14 disproportionality, of expulsions, sus15 pensions, school violence, harassment, 

16 and bullying (as defined under State 

17 or local laws or policies); 

18 (IV) annual student mobility 

19 rates; 

20 (V) annual student transfer 

21 rates; and 

22 (VI) annual attrition rates; 

23 (ii) core indicators, which may in24 clude— 


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1 (I) graduation rates (as defined 

2 under section 200.19(b)(1)(i) of title 

3 34, Code of Federal Regulations); 

4 (II) dropout recovery (re-entry) 

5 rates; 

6 (III) percentage of students who 

7 have on-time credit accumulation at 

8 the end of each grade, and whom are 

9 on track to graduate within the stand10 ard number of years, and the percent11 age of students failing a core subject 

12 course; 

13 (IV) percentage of students who 

14 successfully transitioned from 8th to 

15 9th grade; 

16 (V) student achievement data, in17 cluding the percentage of students 

18 performing at a proficient level on 

19 State student academic assessments 

20 required under section 1111(b)(3) of 

21 the Elementary and Secondary Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

23 6311(b)(3)); and 

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1 scribed in section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of 

2 the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)), and traditionally 

5 underrepresented in the STEM-re6 lated field, participating in STEM-re7 lated coursework or STEM-related 

8 work-based learning opportunities; 

9 and 

10 (iii) indicators of college and career 

11 readiness such as— 

12 (I) percentage of students suc13 cessfully completing rigorous postsec14 ondary education courses while at15 tending secondary school, such as Ad16 vanced Placement or International 

17 Baccalaureate courses; 

18 (II) percentage of students per19 forming at or above the college-readi20 ness benchmark on the SATs, or 

21 ACT; 

22 (III) the number and percentage 

23 of students enrolling in and who at24 tain State and local adjusted levels of 

25 performance, as described in section 


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1 113(b) of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

2 and Technical Education Act of 2006 

3 (20 U.S.C. 2323(b)), and reported by 

4 the State in a manner consistent with 

5 section 113(c) of such Act; 

6 (IV) rates of workplace experi7 ence and other indicators of the acqui8 sition of employability skills, including 

9 the number and percentage of stu10 dents earning an industry-recognized 

11 credential; 

12 (V) the number and percentage 

13 of students completing a registered 

14 apprenticeship program, as defined in 

15 section 171 of the Workforce Innova16 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

17 3226); and 

18 (VI) rates of enrollment, remedi19 ation, persistence, and completion of 

20 postsecondary education. 

21 (e) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.— 

22 (1) DISTRICTWIDE REQUIRED USES OF

23 FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives a grant 

24 under this section shall use the grant funds to— 


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1 (A) develop and implement partnerships to 

2 help schools prepare students to apply academic 

3 concepts to real world challenges; 

4 (B) implement an early warning indicator 

5 system in eligible high schools, and, where ap6 plicable, feeder middle schools, to identify 

7 struggling students and create a system of evi8 dence-based and linguistically and culturally rel9 evant interventions, by— 

10 (i) identifying and analyzing the aca11 demic risk factors that most reliably pre12 dict dropouts by using longitudinal data of 

13 past cohorts of students; 

14 (ii) identifying specific indicators of 

15 student progress and performance, such as 

16 attendance, including the percentage of 

17 students who are chronically absent, aca18 demic performance in core courses, and 

19 postsecondary credit-accumulation, to 

20 guide decisionmaking; 

21 (iii) identifying or developing a mech22 anism for regularly collecting and ana23 lyzing data about the impact of interven24 tions on the indicators of student progress 

25 and performance; 


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1 (iv) analyzing academic indicators to 

2 determine whether students are on track to 

3 graduate secondary school in the standard 

4 numbers of years; and 

5 (v) identifying and implementing 

6 strategies for pairing academic support 

7 with integrated student services and case8 managed interventions for students requir9 ing intensive supports, which may include 

10 partnerships with other external partners; 

11 (C) provide support and credit recovery op12 portunities for struggling students, including 

13 those who are overaged and undercredited, at 

14 secondary schools served by the eligible entity 

15 or other appropriate settings by offering activi16 ties, such as— 

17 (i) the development of a personalized 

18 learning plan; 

19 (ii) a flexible school schedule; 

20 (iii) competency-based learning mod21 els, accelerated learning models, and per22 formance-based assessments; 

23 (iv) the provision of support services; 

24 (v) dual enrollment opportunities; 


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1 (vi) preparation for and transitioning 

2 into postsecondary education; and 

3 (vii) work-related learning opportuni4 ties; 

5 (D) provide dropout recovery or reentry 

6 programs to high schools that are designed to 

7 encourage and support dropouts returning to an 

8 educational system, program, or institution fol9 lowing an extended absence in order to grad10 uate college and career ready; 

11 (E) provide evidence-based middle school 

12 to high school transition programs and sup13 ports, including through curricula alignment 

14 and early high school programs that allow stu15 dents to earn high school credit in middle 

16 school; and 

17 (F) provide school leaders, instructional 

18 staff, noninstructional staff, students, and fami19 lies with high-quality, easily accessible, and 

20 timely information, beginning in grade nine, 

21 about— 

22 (i) secondary school graduation re23 quirements; 

24 (ii) postsecondary education applica25 tion processes; 


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1 (iii) postsecondary admissions proc2 esses and requirements, including require3 ments for pursuing postsecondary degrees 

4 in STEM-related subjects; 

5 (iv) public financial aid and other 

6 available private scholarship and grant aid 

7 opportunities; 

8 (v) regional and national labor market 

9 information, including information about 

10 national and local STEM-related career 

11 opportunities; and 

12 (vi) other programs and services for 

13 increasing rates of college access and suc14 cess for students from low-income families 

15 and other traditionally underserved stu16 dents. 

17 (2) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS IN FEEDER MID18 DLE SCHOOLS.—An eligible entity that receives a 

19 grant under this section shall use the grant funds in 

20 feeder middle schools to improve the academic 

21 achievement of their students and prepare them to 

22 graduate on track to college and career readiness 

23 by— 


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1 (A) using early warning indicator and 

2 intervention systems described in paragraph 

3 (1)(B); 

4 (B) creating a personalized learning envi5 ronment; 

6 (C) providing students with the pre7 requisite coursework necessary to prepare stu8 dents for participation in rigorous and advanced 

9 coursework at the high school level, including in 

10 STEM-related areas of coursework; 

11 (D) implementing organizational practices 

12 and school schedules that allow for collaborative 

13 staff participation, which may include profes14 sional learning communities, team teaching, and 

15 common instructional planning time; 

16 (E) implementing high-quality, evidence17 based, and ongoing professional development 

18 for teachers and school leaders, providing in19 creased opportunities for collaboration, and pro20 viding curriculum coaches or instructional lead21 ers to— 

22 (i) implement the activities funded 

23 under this Act; 

24 (ii) strengthen content knowledge and 

25 instructional strategies; 


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1 (iii) develop instructional strategies to 

2 support literacy across disciplines; and 

3 (iv) develop caring, consistent rela4 tionships between students and staff that 

5 communicate high expectations for student 

6 learning and behavior; 

7 (F) providing professional development and 

8 support for specialized instructional support 

9 personnel; and 

10 (G) providing school leaders, instructional 

11 staff, noninstructional staff, students, and fami12 lies with high-quality, easily accessible, and 

13 timely information about— 

14 (i) secondary school graduation re15 quirements; 

16 (ii) postsecondary applications and ad17 missions processes and requirements, in18 cluding requirements for pursuing postsec19 ondary degrees in STEM-related subjects; 

20 (iii) public financial aid and other 

21 available private scholarship and grant aid 

22 opportunities; 

23 (iv) regional and national labor mar24 ket information, including information 


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1 about national and local STEM-related ca2 reer opportunities; and 

3 (v) other programs and services for 

4 increasing rates of college access and suc5 cess for students from low-income families. 

6 (3) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS IN ELIGIBLE

7 HIGH SCHOOLS.—An eligible entity that receives a 

8 grant under this section shall use the grant funds in 

9 eligible high schools to implement a comprehensive 

10 approach that will— 

11 (A) personalize the school experience— 

12 (i) through the continuous and timely 

13 use of student data (such as from forma14 tive, interim, and summative assessments) 

15 to inform and differentiate instruction in 

16 order to meet the academic needs of indi17 vidual students; 

18 (ii) by providing a personalized se19 quence of instructional content and skill 

20 development informed by the student’s aca21 demic interests and learning styles that is 

22 designed to enable the student to achieve 

23 the student’s individual goals and ensure 

24 the student can graduate on time and colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Nov 18, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4020.IH H4020

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1 lege and career ready, which may include 

2 the use of personalized learning plans; and 

3 (iii) by implementing strategies that 

4 develop caring, consistent relationships be5 tween students and adults that commu6 nicate high expectations for student learn7 ing and behavior; 

8 (B) increase student engagement by pro9 viding applied learning opportunities and stu10 dent-centered learning; 

11 (C) provide school leaders with autonomy 

12 through a flexible budget and staffing author13 ity; 

14 (D) implement ongoing high-quality, job15 embedded, evidence-based professional develop16 ment for teachers and school leaders, provide 

17 increased opportunities for collaboration and 

18 leadership, which may include professional 

19 learning communities, and may include pro20 viding curriculum coaches or instructional lead21 ers to— 

22 (i) implement the activities funded 

23 under this Act; 

24 (ii) strengthen content knowledge and 

25 instructional strategies, including those 


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1 strategies needed to provide postsecondary2 level course content in secondary school 

3 and work-related learning opportunities; 

4 (iii) develop instructional strategies to 

5 support literacy across disciplines; and 

6 (iv) strengthen relationships among 

7 students and staff; 

8 (E) increase student access to teachers cer9 tified in the subject area they are assigned to 

10 teach; 

11 (F) provide professional development and 

12 support for specialized instructional support 

13 personnel; 

14 (G) improve access to rigorous courses, in15 cluding providing all students with pathways to 

16 earn not less than 12 postsecondary credits 

17 while in high school, which may include— 

18 (i) redesigning academic content and 

19 instructional practices to align high school 

20 coursework with criteria associated with 

21 admission to postsecondary education and 

22 success in such postsecondary education in 

23 credit-bearing courses and employer expec24 tations; 


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1 (ii) increasing rigor by providing each 

2 student with the opportunity to earn post3 secondary credit while in high school, par4 ticularly in STEM-related subjects, such as 

5 through dual enrollment or early college 

6 high school; or 

7 (iii) implementing competency-based 

8 learning models; 

9 (H) provide college and career pathways 

10 through such activities as— 

11 (i) implementing a college and career 

12 ready curriculum that integrates rigorous 

13 academics, early college and dual enroll14 ment opportunities, career and technical 

15 education, and experiential learning for 

16 high school students in high-skill, high-de17 mand industries in collaboration with local 

18 and regional employers, including in 

19 STEM-related subject areas, and work20 based learning experiences; 

21 (ii) providing dual enrollment oppor22 tunities with college credit-bearing courses, 

23 including accelerated certificate programs 

24 with community colleges or other recog25 nized postsecondary credentials and includVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Nov 18, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4020.IH H4020

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1 ing dual enrollment opportunities for sec2 ondary school students who are 2 or more 

3 years overage or undercredited and those 

4 who have dropped out of school; or 

5 (iii) designing curricula and sequences 

6 of courses, including in STEM-related sub7 jects, in collaboration with teachers from 

8 the eligible high school and faculty from 

9 the partner institution of higher education 

10 so that students may simultaneously earn 

11 credits toward a high school diploma and 

12 earn an associate degree or at least 12 

13 transferable postsecondary education cred14 its toward a postsecondary degree at no 

15 cost to students or their families; 

16 (I) strengthen the transition between high 

17 school and postsecondary education, which may 

18 begin in middle school, through such activities 

19 as— 

20 (i) providing comprehensive and time21 ly academic and career counseling, which 

22 includes ensuring low student-to-counselor 

23 ratios, that addresses both college and ca24 reer planning needs and allow students to 

25 make informed decisions about academic 


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1 and career options, including the use of 

2 current labor market information for stu3 dents, families, and staff; 

4 (ii) providing high-quality college and 

5 career exploration opportunities including 

6 college campus visits, work-related learning 

7 opportunities, particularly in in-demand in8 dustry sectors or occupations, as defined in 

9 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

10 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

11 (iii) coordinating secondary and post12 secondary support services, and academic 

13 calendars to allow students to visit and 

14 take courses at the institutions of higher 

15 education; and 

16 (iv) providing academic and support 

17 services, including financial aid counseling 

18 for postsecondary education; 

19 (J) make more strategic use of learning 

20 time, which may include restructuring the 

21 school day, extending the school day, week, or 

22 year, or providing related opportunities through 

23 after school programming; 

24 (K) utilize technology effectively to achieve 

25 the purposes of this Act; and 


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1 (L) provide integrated support services to 

2 address the social, emotional, health, and be3 havioral needs of students that influence aca4 demic achievement. 

5 (f) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity 

6 that receives a grant under this section may use the grant 

7 funds to improve parent and family engagement in the 

8 educational achievement of students and dropouts to en9 sure that they are, or become, on track to college and ca10 reer readiness, which may include— 

11 (1) leveraging community-based services and re12 sources to support students, dropouts, and their 

13 families; 

14 (2) providing information to assist parents and 

15 families in navigating the public school system and 

16 postsecondary planning; 

17 (3) providing or modernizing equipment and 

18 materials needed to implement high-quality, career19 related instruction and science, technology, engineer20 ing, and mathematics instruction to assist in the im21 plementation of activities required under subsection 

22 (e); 

23 (4) providing after school or extended learning 

24 opportunities, by extending the school day, week, or 

25 year to increase the total number of school hours to 


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1 include additional time for instruction in academic 

2 subjects and enrichment activities that contribute to 

3 a well-rounded education and includes credit-bearing 

4 opportunities; 

5 (5) increasing student supports through activi6 ties such as student advisories, school counseling op7 portunities, and one-to-one mentoring; and 

8 (6) creating smaller learning communities. 

9 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible enti10 ty shall use Federal funds received under this section only 

11 to supplement the funds that would, in the absence of such 

12 Federal funds, be made available from other Federal and 

13 non-Federal sources for the activities described in this sec14 tion, and not to supplant such funds. 

15 (h) SUSTAINABILITY.—An eligible entity shall dem16 onstrate— 

17 (1) how the use of existing Federal, State, and 

18 local resources, such as funds made available under 

19 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 

20 Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Work21 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

22 3101 et seq.) may be coordinated with such grant; 

23 and 


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1 (2) how the members of the eligible entity will 

2 identify and secure resources to ensure program sus3 tainability after the expiration of such grant. 

4 (i) DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION.— 

5 (1) COLLECTION OF DATA.—Each eligible enti6 ty receiving a grant under this Act shall collect and 

7 report annually to the Secretary such information on 

8 the results of the activities assisted under the grant 

9 as the Secretary may reasonably require, includ10 ing— 

11 (A) the number and percentage of stu12 dents, in the aggregate and disaggregated by 

13 each subgroup of students, as described in sec14 tion 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and 

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)), who are served by the eligi17 ble entity under this Act and who— 

18 (i) graduate from high school with a 

19 regular high school diploma within 4 years; 

20 (ii) graduate from high school with a 

21 regular high school diploma within 5 years; 

22 (iii) graduate from high school with a 

23 regular high school diploma within 6 years; 


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1 (iv) are on track to graduate from 

2 high school college and career ready within 

3 the standard number of years; 

4 (v) earn credit toward a postsecondary 

5 credential, including the number of credits; 

6 (vi) earn a recognized postsecondary 

7 credential, as defined in section 3 of the 

8 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

9 (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

10 (vii) enroll in postsecondary edu11 cation; 

12 (viii) need remediation at the postsec13 ondary level; 

14 (ix) complete at least the equivalent of 

15 1 academic year of postsecondary credit 

16 applicable to a postsecondary degree not 

17 later than 2 years after enrollment in an 

18 institution of higher education; and 

19 (x) complete postsecondary education; 

20 (B) information consistent with the addi21 tional indicators of success proposed by the eli22 gible entity in the grant application; and 

23 (C) other information the Secretary may 

24 require as necessary for the evaluation de25 scribed in paragraph (3). 


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1 (2) REPORTING OF DATA.—Each eligible entity 

2 receiving a grant under this Act shall disaggregate 

3 the information required under paragraph (1) in the 

4 same manner as information is disaggregated under 

5 section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 6311(h)(1)(C)(i)). 

8 (3) EVALUATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity re10 ceiving a grant under this Act shall, imme11 diately after the receipt of grant funds, enter 

12 into a contract with an outside evaluator to en13 able the evaluator to conduct— 

14 (i) an evaluation of the effects of the 

15 grant after the third year of implementa16 tion of the grant, including the perform17 ance indicators described in paragraph (1); 

18 and 

19 (ii) an evaluation of the effects on the 

20 grant after the final year of the grant pe21 riod, including the performance indicators 

22 described in paragraph (1). 

23 (B) DISTRIBUTION.—Upon completion of 

24 an evaluation described in subparagraph (A), 


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1 the eligible entity shall submit a copy of the 

2 evaluation to the Secretary in a timely manner. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this Act $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 and for each 

6 of the succeeding 5 fiscal years. 

Æ 


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